The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Conventional laser welding has been used in various industries to join metallic components such as, for example, steel sheets used in manufacturing automotive body panels and the like. Such steel sheets are typically galvanized or galvannealed by treating the steel sheet with a protective coating such as, for example, zinc.
While protective coatings inhibit rust formation and corrosion, such coatings increase the complexity of welding treated steel plates. Conventional coating materials used to treat steel sheets typically include a boiling temperature that is different than a melting temperature of the steel from which the steel sheets are formed. The discrepancy in boiling/melting temperature between the coating material and the steel may cause the protective coating to boil and infiltrate the pool of molten metal when two or more treated steel plates are welded in an overlap configuration. Such infiltration of the protective coating vapor into the weld pool may cause the weld pool to spatter and/or become porous. The spattering and porosity of the weld results in a weakened weld that is prone to corrosion.